Quirky British Artists Use Grass to Make Portraits

Dan Harvey and Heather Ackroyd (known professionally as Ackroyd & Harvey) have collaborated as ecologists, architects, sculptors, and photographers since 1990. One of their more inventive projects is their series of grass portraits.

A grass portrait, or “photosynthesis work,” is made by covering a large-scale canvas with water paste and sticking germinated seeds to it. Once the canvas is ready, Ackroyd & Harvey let the grass grow vertically and turn their studio into a dark room, with the only light coming from a projected negative image of the portrait subject. Subsequently, the grass that gets more light produces more chlorophyll and green pigment, which they compare to a black-and-white photograph.

The two artists only grow one or two grass portraits a year, intending them as statements about climate change that blur the line between science, nature, and art.

Below, watch Great Big Story‘s video about them and see their process in action.